See? It’s a pancake. Sometimes they are called by another name—German pancakes, and indeed, food historians suspect that the moniker “Dutch” is actually a corruption of “Deutsch,” which makes much more sense. As for the “baby” part, I have no idea. Perhaps the first tasters were so amazed that they cried out “oh baby?”

Whatever the etymology of the name, these pancakes are delicious and perfect when you have guests for brunch. Pull the eggs out of the fridge the night before—they won’t spoil, I promise—just as with a good batch of popovers, room temperature eggs help insure that your pancake will puff.

In the morning, slip the pancake in the oven while you make coffee, fry bacon, etc. So much easier than flipping individual pancakes like a short-order cook, but no less satisfying. Heck, even Sonya, my breakfast-obsessed photographer, said, “I think I might like this better than a regular pancake!” Oh baby, indeed.

DUTCH BABY PANCAKE

Should you be craving some “regular” pancakes, we’ve got a recipe for those, too.

As the oven is heating, toss the butter in your skillet and place it into the oven to heat. In the meantime, whisk together the remaining ingredients.

Once the oven has pre-heated, check the skillet. When your butter is nutty-brown and slightly foamy, pour in the pancake batter. Return to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the pancake is puffed and golden.

Cool slightly, then cut into wedges and serve. I like mine with a healthy dusting of powdered sugar and squeezes from fresh lemons; Jill prefers hers with syrup and berries.

VARIATION—When browning the butter in the oven, include some thinly sliced apple and a dash of cinnamon. Pour the batter over the whole mess and bake the same as above. Makes a lovely treat, especially in fall or winter.

One comment about room temp eggs: here in France the eggs for sale in stores are not refrigerated. They are on store shelves, just like cereal and other dry goods. Many French families choose to keep their eggs out on countertops or on top of fridges. They are just fine. While I choose to refrigerate my eggs once I get them home, I make things with room temperature eggs all the time (including homemade mayonnaise with room temp yolks) and have yet to have any problems whatsoever.

[…] in a cast iron skillet and baked it until it was puffed and golden and reminiscent of an inside-out Dutch baby. The peaches emerged warm and soft, and the chunks of vanilla-scented cake fell away onto the plate […]

I am having mixed results with my Dutch Baby rising up every time. Sometimes it’s perfect and lately it’s been a flat—but good tasting “pancake”. I wonder if I am getting the skillet either too hot or not hot enough when I pour in the batter??? I am following the ingredient recipe correctly, so could this be it?

I am so excited to try this. I order them at my favorite local pancake house and can’t wait to make them at home. They are Dutch babies because they are a smaller version of a German pancake (which are ginormous). Makes sense, right?? Especially knowing they are supposed to be Deutsch babies.